America’s Hidden Education Crisis

"I have to spend two semesters of my college career being exactly where I feared I’d be. Behind. Is that my fault?" - Tiara Carr, SFER Member

Ask the Presidential Candidates about Remedial Education

Students are being forced to pay out-of-pocket for costly remedial courses that don't count towards their college degree in order to learn material that public high schools were supposed to teach them for free. Presidential candidates are talking about student debt but none of them have a plan to reform the remedial system.

Sign this petition if you think presidential candidates must address the remedial education crisis.

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Dear Presidential Candidates,

The remedial course system at American universities is a national crisis causing crushing student debt and low college completion rates, especially among low-income students and students of color. Students in underserved communities are graduating from high school, often with good grades, only to find that they do not meet the requirements for entry-level college courses. In order to get the education that they were supposed to receive for free in the K-12 system, these students are forced to pay out-of-pocket for costly remedial courses that do not count towards a college degree.

If you are serious about reducing inequality and solving the student debt crisis, your administration must reform the remedial education system. Please explain how you will achieve these three objectives:

Eliminating the financial burden of remediation that is placed on college students.

Requiring that public university systems replace some remedial courses with co-requisite credit-bearing courses that will ensure a student paying college tuition is getting college credit.

Requiring that public K-12 schools raise their academic standards so that graduates are adequately prepared for college.